


Easing Tension

by Prideling



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Awkward First Times, Bittersweet, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Porn With Plot, Shakarian - Freeform, Smut, Vica Shepard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-05
Updated: 2015-09-03
Packaged: 2018-03-29 03:34:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3880669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Prideling/pseuds/Prideling
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As promissed, they try to work off a little stress together before all hell breaks loose. But nothing's ever easy for these two, and any peace they find will be hard won. (Set right before, and then right after the Suicide Mission)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Horrible Interspecies Awkwardness Thing

The shower, Shepard decided, was the best thing her cabin had to offer. Sure, the bed was huge and the linen was incredibly soft, and even the view had stopped unnerving her. The large desk was a nice touch too, but the shower? Unbeatable.

As hot water ran over her body it pushed the thoughts of her missing crew away, and if it was only for a second it was enough. It wouldn't do to be too wound-up before this particular mission. She was about to take her entire squad on what was in all likelihood a one-way-trip. Their commander had to be on an even keel if this was to work at all.

Two hours until they hit the Omega 4 relay, they'd said. One hour and fifty minutes now that she was done with her shower. That was still plenty of time to figure out how to ease some tension.

Speaking of easing tension...

There was a conspicuous lack of turian in her cabin. Shepard tried not to read too much into it. Even though Garrus had assured her time and time again that he was all for a little cross-species liaison and that he wanted to wait until the last second to do it, that didn't mean that she had any right to expect him to come now. The circumstances had changed, they were running half a ghost ship, sustained only by the fact that EDI could take over as many systems as they asked her to. Shepard tried not to shudder at the thought of just how much power that AI was packing and instead concentrated on toweling down and slipping into the most comfortable fatigues Cerberus had given her.

She pointedly ignored the multitude of datapads strewn over her desk, or the blinking light of an unread message on her terminal, and moved to check on her hamster instead.

That was when the door to her cabin opened.

Shepard turned to find Garrus standing at the entrance, dressed in civvies and rolling a small bottle between his fingers. He seemed to notice what had drawn her attention and that was what finally set him in motion.

"Hey, I brought wine," he drawled, stepping into the cabin proper, "best I could afford on a vigilante's salary."

She smiled at him, at a loss for what else to say or do. He came. He actually came in spite of this new goddamn mess, and the very thought that he still wanted her pulled her face into a grin. Well, that and watching him frantically dart across her cabin, key on the most god-awful music and do his best to seem cool and in control.

Since he'd gone vigilante Garrus always seemed just that, but Shepard remembered how easy it had been to make him stammer back on the SR1 and it surprised her how relieved she felt to know that that part of him was still in there. Better yet, that she could still bring it out in him. She walked towards him, deliberately putting a little prowl into her step. In what could only be called defensive strategy, Garrus started talking.

"If you were a turian I'd be complementing your waist or your fringe..."

_Oh no._

"So your... uh... hair? Looks... good. And your waist is... very supportive."

She bit back an unhelpful laugh and had an inordinately hard time keeping her features only mildly amused. Garrus was now rambling about offending humans and some vids Joker gave him and she decided to take pity on him for once.

"Whoa! Consider me seduced, smooth-talker, now shut up and stop worrying."

Shepard breezed past him, partly to turn off that damn music, but also to hide the wince at her own words. Okay, so maybe she shouldn't throw stones. When it came down to it, they were both a mess at flirting. It's not the sort of thing a military life prepared you for. She turned to find him staring at the ground, his entire posture sagging. Suddenly his hesitation wasn't cause to smile.

"I-I just... I've seen so many things go wrong, Shepard. My work at C-Sec, what happened with Sidonis. I want something to go right. Just once. Just—"

There was a knot in Shepard's chest as she stepped up to him and touched careful fingers to his ruined mandible. The cloth of his bandage was worn from constant use, and the scars were rougher than she'd expected. Shepard kept her touch gentle, not wanting to hurt him, but it seemed to be enough to steady him. He sighed, leaning into her palm and stroking her arm and she shifted closer, remembering something she'd once read. She bowed her head and he responded automatically, tilting towards her until their foreheads touched and their eyes slid closed.

They stood this way for a moment, resting against each other, sharing the air they breathed, and it was nice for a while.  Before she had too much time to wonder what the hell she was supposed to do next, Shepard broke off and headed down towards the larger area of her cabin. She turned back to Garrus, who'd stayed behind, looking entirely too slim without his usual armor, downright naked without his visor. He blinked once and followed, her uncertainty mirrored in his gait. Shepard had to resist the urge to sigh. If he was still this nervous, showing exasperation would be of no help. Instead, she busied herself with pouring the wine he'd brought.

She couldn't resist stealing glances at him as she worked, and she found his eyes flicking from the empty fish tank to her bed more than once. At least he'd made himself somewhat comfortable on the couch and was not fidgeting, though he looked like he was fishing around for something else to say. She finished her preparations hurriedly and handed him his glass before taking a seat closer to him than she'd ever been outside of combat. Garrus cleared his throat and held up his glass.

"To easing tension?"

Shepard chuckled. "Here's hoping," she quipped, and clinked her glass against his.

The wine was a bit sweet and very dry, and it left a strange tingle on her tongue, a side effect of its neutral chiralty, no doubt. She checked the label for future reference then looked up to find Garrus staring at her. He immediately switched his focus back to the wine and she did her best not to roll her eyes. When the silence lasted past a few more sips, Shepard put her glass down a bit too firmly and plucked Garrus's out of his hands. He looked like he was about to protest until Shepard moved swiftly over him and straddled his legs. Too much too soon, perhaps, but he was taking his sweet time and she needed to get him moving.

Garrus made a choked little sound at the back of his throat and his subvocals went straight into a register she could only call stressed. Maybe it  _was_  too much too soon.

"You know, if you're still not sure about this..."

"No," he interrupted, a bit too quickly, "I want this, Shepard. I do." He placed his palms over her hips as if to prove his point and clamped his mandibles tight against his face, which had the effect of dampening the sound his throat was making.

Shepard bit her lip. "Good," she said, suddenly at a loss again and fighting back the ridiculous urge to ask, just one more time, if he was sure. Instead, she busied her lips by leaning in and kissing his unscarred mandible. It was just a light touch but he still flinched at it. Undeterred, she did it again, then again, lower, closer to his throat. Garrus hummed softly and his hands moved a little where he'd left them, but not much more.

Maybe it was pre-mission jitters, but Shepard was in a bit of a wicked mood. This time, she peeled down his turtleneck and went for his throat with her teeth. The soft nip was enough to make him jolt and almost unseat her.

"You're awfully tense for someone in the middle of a tie-breaker," she hedged, hoping to lighten the mood.

"Maybe..." he breathed, starting to relax a bit, "my sparring partner's not trying hard enough."

Oh was that it? Shepard grinned against the hide of his neck and decided to properly taste the foreign texture of it. Garrus hummed, harder this time as she pressed her mouth to him and sucked lightly. His skin was fever-hot against her tongue, almost spicy and not very supple. She ran her hands over his hard carapace and downwards over his chest, feeling the ridged texture of the overlapping plates of his keelbone under his clothes. It was strange, definitely—weird even, but it was also oddly satisfying to finally stop asking herself what it would be like to touch him properly.

Garrus's hands were also wandering, gliding down her thighs and then back up, nimble fingers kneading at the muscles in her lower back, thumbs rubbing circles into the front of her hips as if seeking bone. He seemed to struggle with a decision, then he moved his hands higher, sighing when his palms rested over her waist. She remembered what she'd researched and imitated his gesture, letting her hands drop to his own waist and pressing her fingers a little into the flesh.

He outright moaned this time, gripping her hard and throwing his head as far back as his fringe would allow. Shepard's moment of elation was somewhat curtailed when she realized this didn't give her any further access to his neck. His damned clothes were in the way. She started to hunt around for a latch or a zipper when Garrus decided to return her earlier favor by nosing at her neck.

She was annoyed for all of two seconds until his tongue poked out and flicked against her ear. Shepard shuddered and went very still, but then so did he. She hurriedly stroked his waist again and tilted her head, exposing more of her neck to him. It was all the invitation Garrus needed and he started nibbling on her skin with his plates. His mandibles tickled in an nice way but he seemed hesitant to really bite her. Then again, with those teeth it was probably for the best. That long, narrow tongue made an appearance once more, lapping over the length of her neck and curling behind the shell of her ear. Shepard groaned and her hands went back to tugging at his clothes, with less searching and more mindless pulling.

Garrus chuckled richly against her ear, sending a jolt of a shudder all the way down her spine. God if only he knew what that voice did to her—had done to her for some time now.

He had taken her hint quite to heart and before she realized it he had unlatched the top part of his clothes. She looked down to where they lay open, at the expanse of silver bonelike plate over his chest that broke off into smaller and smaller sections downwards and towards the side until it was nothing but pebbles over sandy hide. Her hands were drawn to the broken rim of his cowl and her fingers traced the sharp, fractured edges carefully. On impulse, she left a kiss over the scarred hide she found there and let her hands wander over the jutts and patterns of his chest, seeking out warm skin. He hummed deeply again as she caressed his vulnerable waist, all the way to where she found more plating at his back. Then, just as she leaned in to explore his spine he shrugged forwards to get rid of the rest of his clothing. Their foreheads connected, none-too-gently this time, and Shepard reeled back and hissed, rubbing at the smarting skin.

"Sorry!" they said together, then looked at each other and laughed, perhaps a bit louder than the situation warranted.

"And now you're all red," Garrus pointed out helpfully, laughter subsiding into light chuckles as he ran fingers over her forehead.

"Yeah well that's what happens when humans get battered by blunt objects," she poked his crest hard to prove her point. 

"I thought  _you_  were the blunt object."

"You're never going to forgive me for how I strategize are you?"

"Strategize?" His chuckling turned dark, "So that's what you call charging into my sight lines?"

"Quit whining, Vakarian, you already learned to predict me."

"I'm not always right," he replied, suddenly serious. "Haven't I hit you a couple of times?"

"Yeah like just now" she groused, refusing to let his mood slip. Luckily, he seemed to pick up on her intention.

"And everything was going so right..." he sighed in mock-wistful tones. Shepard cocked an eyebrow at him and leaned into his space.

"It can go right again," she purred and planted a kiss on his mouth plates. It was... different, kissing something so unmoving, especially when the other participant stayed stock-still for so long, but then Garrus tilted his head to the side with measured precision and opened his mouth to her.

_Right, he said he'd been doing research._

She lapped at him experimentally, testing the somewhat pliant edges of his plates, trying to coax his tongue out. He met her halfway, darting his tongue against hers shyly. She kissed him a little harder, her hands on either side of his face, cradling the mandibles. So many different moving parts were a little disconcerting, but he distracted her by threading fingers into her short hair and she realized he had removed his gloves when she felt the light scrape of talons against her scalp. She hummed against him and he hummed back and didn't stop, his subvocals taking over in a deep, gentle pattern. She stroked his neck once and then started unfastening her own clothing. Quid pro quo.

When he realized what she was doing he deepened the kiss further, finally letting his tongue sweep into her mouth. It was almost overwhelming but she kept up, finally shrugging off her top and winding her arms around his neck. Garrus locked his own arms around her back and suddenly surged off the couch. Shepard gasped and gripped his waist with her legs instinctually. He'd stood up all the way and was now flaring his mandibles at her in a turian equivalent of a grin as he walked them towards the bed.

She opened her mouth to say something clever about his eagerness, when he got his hands around her ribs and tossed her roughly into the bed. Shepard laughed as she bounced on the mattress, then got right back up and tugged him towards her by the hem of his pants.

His subvocals went back up into that more nervous pitch and he started unfastening the clothing toward one side. Not to leave him hanging, she leaned back and did the same, unbuttoning her pants, cursing when she realized her shoes were still on. Even with this extra delay, she was still done before he was, and she leaned back to watch him unwrap some complicated latches around the spurs of his calves so he could unsheathe them. Garrus knelt to peel the rest of it right off all the way to his feet and when he looked back up he froze.

Shepard stayed as she was, splayed out in nothing but her underwear, watching his expression carefully. Even for a turian he was giving nothing away.

"See something you like?" she tried, keeping her voice purposefully light.

"Definitely," came his reply, almost too softly to be heard and he rose out of his crouch to crawl over her.

She shifted to make room for him on the bed and took a good long look at him. Apparently turians weren't much into underwear; the plates down his front culminated in a series of overlapping segments that covered him completely from hip bone to jutting hip bone. She could see the finely corded muscles higher on his hips and his waist, as well as his arms and legs, but everything else—from his shoulders to his chest, and even his elbows and forearms seemed obscured by that same slightly—glossy plating. It made him look wild, appropriately predatory, and for the first time since she met Garrus, Shepard felt a small frission of fear run the length of her as she looked at him. She realized she'd left  _him_ in suspense this time when she looked up to find his mandibles twitching nervously, so to compensate she rose up from her elbows and went straight for his waist with an open mouth.

Garrus cried out and fruitlessly tried to tug at her shorn hair so she pulled herself away for him.

"Too much?"

"A little," he rasped out rather breathlessly, "But if you do that again slowly I definitely won't complain."

She grinned wickedly and tried his other side, nuzzling gently first, then kissing, then licking. Garrus's hums turned into deep thrumming, and when she closed her lips around the skin and sucked his groans turned into moans. Shepard kept going until he was hunched and his legs were shaking and the sounds he was making went straight through her, sending heat down past her navel to pool between her legs. She was warding off the urge to touch herself when Garrus slid a finger into the band of her panties and gave it two sharp tugs.

The meaning was clear enough and Shepard moved off of him with a parting lick, giving him time to catch his breath as she slipped off her panties and then unfastened her bra for good measure. The instant she tossed the garments aside, Garrus was on her, pinning her hips to the mattress with his own.

The edges of his plates pressed into her flesh and she had to struggle to keep Mordin's admonishing face from swimming to the forefront of mind.

_So not the time._

A welcome distraction came in the form of Garrus nibbling and licking at her collarbone, stroking down her waist and her bare hips and legs. Even the the feeling of his keelbone resting between her breasts wasn't so bad, she thought. But then Garrus dug his fingers hard under her arms and Shepard jolted like she'd been shot. Before she knew what she was doing she had scrambled away from him. His hand shot out and caught her by the wrist, and only then did she realize she'd nearly backed off the bed entirely. The instant she was settled he snatched his hands back to his sides, leaving her swaying in his wake.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to—Did you just giggle?"

Shepard slapped a hand over her mouth, vaguely aware that her chest was still heaving, and willed herself back under control. What was  _wrong_  with her?

"It tickles" she said, sounding more childish than she'd planned, which made Garrus laugh. For once he looked more relaxed than she was.

"Vulnerable spots are good for turians," he supplied when she didn't say anything.

"Well there's such a thing as too vulnerable in humans," she replied, letting mirth back into her voice.

"Sorry," he said again, "I shouldn't have assumed—"

"Here," she cut in, scooting towards him before his apology could really get going.  She grabbed his hands and placed them firmly on her waist, taking pleasure in watching his pupils dilate impossibly. Shepard let him roam for a bit again, hands still on his, getting used to the rough texture of the fragments of plate under her fingers, the softer hide of his palms on her skin, the light prick of his filed-down talons. When he started to knead a little too hard she tugged his hands up over her belly, past her ribs, under her breasts.

Here she felt him hesitate, and she didn't so much as glance at him, not wanting to see the look on his face. Maybe breasts were too much for him right now, too different. Would he be grossed out? They were the complete opposite of the hard angles turians seemed to favor. These doubts had plagued her before, but she'd always pushed them aside. Too busy, she'd tell herself, deal with it later, no time now.

And now she was out of time.

Shepard started to debate whether or not to end the guided tour when he made the decision for her and covered her breasts easily with his hands. She waited with baited breath as he palmed them gently, leaning into him in encouragement. He squeezed softly as if testing and the feeling was enough to make her groan with want.

"Again, a little harder," she said breathily and he complied, rolling his thumbs for good measure. She moaned softly and he thrummed back at her. He moved for her neck again and here she shifted his hands to the sides, pushing his thumbs with her own. When his thumbs brushed her nipples she rewarded him with a moan. He hummed appreciatively and nipped his way down her collarbone and into softer flesh, replacing one thumb with his tongue.

Shepard cried out as he licked and nipped at the hardened nub and he soon switched to the other. His hands were massaging her waist and hips again and they dipped to splay over her ass. He gave her an experimental squeeze and she moaned again, arching into him.

Garrus continued to knead her until she pulled him up from under the chin and kissed his mouth. While he was distracted she pushed at his shoulders until he laid back and she straddled him again. She was about to attack his neck when she narrowly avoided smacking against his forehead a second time. Garrus seemed to be trying to get his head off the bed and soon Shepard saw why.

His fringe was being bent into the mattress. She backed down to his legs so he could get up.

"Damn bed..." he grumbled, twisting to rearrange her pillows. Then he scooted partially out from under her to prop himself against his construction and shimmied a bit to get comfortable. Nodding to himself he looked back up. "Where were we?"

But something else had caught Shepard's attention.

The plates that had previously covered his groin completely had started to retract to the sides, almost like splitting apart at a seam down the middle. She clambered a little awkwardly off of him to kneel between his legs instead.

Garrus drew his knees towards his chest a bit but the gesture seemed more defensive than permissive. Shepard made sure to look into his eyes as she kissed the inside of his knee.

"Is this okay?" she asked cautiously.

"Yes," he replied, unblinking.

"How about this?" she ventured, licking the soft inside of his thigh without breaking eye contact.

"Yes—" he swallowed.

"And this?" she dipped down and sucked on the last bit of thin hide where his leg met his groin.

"Ah! Y-yes. Mmm. Shepard."

Blunted talons raked lightly over her scalp and a hand cradled her skull, goading her on. Shepard kept licking and sucking, switching sides when he started to squirm. She could see the plates shifting more at the edge of her vision, and soon she was swimming in the unmistakable scent of arousal. Some things translated well enough apparently.

Not looking yet, Shepard slipped her hand under his free one, and he got the meaning soon enough. Just as she had done earlier, he took her hand and guided it over the fully retracted plates to the root of something hot, hard, and already wet. She gasped and he stopped pushing her, but she closed her fingers around him slowly, biting her lip when she realized exactly how thick he was. His fingers then closed around hers and tugged her gently upwards. Soft, veined skin gave way to harder ridges and a rougher, flared head. Shepard rolled her thumb over it, and was rewarded with a deep, throaty moan. Only then did she look up at his face and found him, head thrown back, eyes shut, mandibles slack, more relaxed than she'd ever seen him.

Gaze not straying from his face she pumped him once, heard his subvocals kick up in pitch, then did it again, twisting her hand when she reached the top. Garrus moaned harder this time and she fell into a rhythm, tightening her fingers at odd intervals, occasionally swirling thumb over the head. She tore her gaze from his face long enough to look down at what her hand was doing and had to swallow hard when she did.

His cock was thick at the base, straining, a deep shade of blue, and starting to drip over her fingers. His hand had slipped from her own and was now resting at the base, rubbing the skin that was pooled there. A sheath? Shepard barely had the presence of mind to wonder and instead used her free hand to imitate what he was doing with his own. Garrus cried out and bucked into her hand a few times, then stopped, seeming to almost retract from her grip.

"W-wait!" he cried urgently.

She let go of him at once, putting both hands on his knees instead.

"I was close... way too close," he panted, a lopsided grin gracing his features.

Shepard breathed out a sigh.

"Then you should've let me keep going."

"No way. Not yet."

Deciding against decorum she made a show of pouting, which teased a winded laugh from him. Still, he was not to be deterred.

"You honestly thought I'd let you have all the fun, Shepard?" It was her turn to chuckle.

"I think you were the one having fun, Vakarian."

"Well we'll just have to do something about that.”

He grabbed her and flipped their positions too suddenly for her to react. She'd never seen him move that fast and it left her a little breathless, blinking at him as he smiled down at her. He took a moment to press his forehead to hers, then left a quick trail of nibbles down her front all the way to her hip. There he stopped, poised between her legs with a sniper's stillness. It took Shepard a moment to realize he was looking at her, waiting for her permission. She saw the eagerness in his eyes and all she could manage was a short little nod. His mandible flicked once and his gaze dropped between her legs.

Shepard had to fight the urge to clamp her knees together under his scrutiny. He seemed to read the tension in her body and he ran his hands over the insides of her thighs. It was more calming that she thought it would be and she settled back down, but not all the way. She had to see him, see his reaction.

Garrus didn't seem to mind. When his hands met back at her cunt he paused there, then ran his thumbs over the folds of skin. She managed not to squirm at the sensation but she failed when he pulled her labia aside.

"Am I doing this right?" he asked, looking at her eyes again. Shepard forced herself to hold his gaze and nodded.

"Keep going."

He dipped his head again and finished spreading her apart, eyes widening a bit at whatever he found there. Shepard found herself unable to look now and she laid back as she felt a blush creep up her neck. She threw an arm over her eyes when she felt his thumb brush her from bottom to top excruciatingly slowly, then all the way back down.

"Here," she said, sneaking her hand between her legs. Maybe if she lost herself in sensation she could forget just how piercing his blue eyes were. "Like this." She rubbed circles over her clitoris, sighing when she felt the familiar pulse of pleasure wind up her spine. Ever the quick learner, Garrus took over with his thumb, imitating what she was doing perfectly.

"You're so soft," he purred, and it was all she could do not to clench at the sound of his voice and the feeling of his breath ghosting over her entrance. She must have moaned, because her voice was tight when she spoke again.

"And like this." Shepard slipped her other hand past his and pushed a finger into her opening, biting back a moan when she realized just how wet she already was. She heard Garrus groan and felt the mattress shift under his weight, and the thought of him getting excited over seeing her so open like this, enough to grind down to find some relief, made her moan again and she started to move her finger.

It had definitely been a while for her, so she let herself get used to the feeling before slipping another finger into her folds. Garrus gasped as she fucked herself on her fingers, but he never stopped what he was doing doing, not even as he leaned forwards to bite her hip. This wasn't like his previous nibbles, this was a proper bite, and the pain lanced through her muscles and pooled low in her belly. Her moans were getting breathier as Garrus laved the bite generously with his tongue, but then he moved off her almost entirely.

Shepard's eyes fluttered open and she stopped, about to ask him what was wrong, when she realized he was stretched over to the side of the bed, rooting around in his discarded pants. His keelbone barely missed her nose as he righted himself again and triumphantly produced a little foil packet. He tore open one side and pulled out a flexible little something that he rolled onto his length with care.

_Condom. Of course. Levo and Dextro fluids could be a bad mix. Points for coming prepared Vakarian._

She had to tamp down on a slightly hysterical giggle that threatened to escape, and instead focused on Garrus with this hands on his cock. Garrus whom she'd known for years, who had been earnest and eager from day one, who'd always had her back no matter what crazy things she got him into. Garrus who was pointy and scaly and blue in odd places and very definitely not human. Garrus who was looking at her with gentleness in his eyes, with a fire that was more than his usual zeal.

"Ready?" he said, voice wavering.

No. She wasn't. She could never be. But oh she wanted this, she wanted  _him_  so badly it hurt to wait another second.

"Yes."

He pressed into her cautiously, rubbing at her clit again. Shepard groaned and lifted her hips to help. He entered her slowly and even with the preparation it was still a stretch, every delicious inch of it. He stretched her until it was painful, but then he was buried to the hilt and she let out a half sob against his shoulder.

"Spirits, you’re tight.” He seemed to need a moment to compose himself but then he turned to her. “Are you okay?" He asked between pressing stiff kisses to her cheek and temple.

"Yes." She choked out. Then, "Move."

"Right," he said and he began to rock back and forth, gently.

The pressure abated into more pleasure than pain and Shepard found herself matching his rhythm. The deep thrum of his subvocals was back with full force and she writhed at the sound. Taking it as encouragement, Garrus sped up, thrusting hard against her.

One of his hands was tangled in her short hair and his ragged breaths were at her ear. His panting turned to erratic grunts when she went for his neck with her tongue again and for one precious moment everything was perfect. Then, Shepard became aware of a burning sensation that slowly cleaved a line between her breasts.

_Right, chafing._

"Garrus, wait," she breathed and he stopped instantly. Shepard hooked her legs over his hipbones, lifting her own hips and forcing him to change the angle. He lifted himself off of her chest and cursed at the angry red line his plates had left there.

"Damn it Shepard, I'm sorry," he began, starting to retreat.

"No! Don't stop," she sighed, and moved against him from this new angle. She saw him bite back a moan and did it again, "Please don't stop, Garrus."

He looked at her strangely at that, in wonder and like he'd never quite seen her before. He gripped her hips for leverage and thrust against her once, hard. The angle hit a spot deep inside her and the impact made her breasts bounce. Shepard cried out and she saw Garrus's brow plates lift higher than she thought they could. Garrus took a deep breath and did it again, harder this time, then again and again until he built a relentless rhythm against her.

Shepard grit her teeth on moan after breathy moan and tangled her fingers in the bedsheets so hard she thought they would rip. She tightened her legs around Garrus's waist and he threw back his head in a two-toned howl. Emboldened, Shepard lifted her hips to meet his thrusts and clenched around him hard. Garrus let out another flanging cry and then hunched over, breathing hard.

"I'm close, Shepard. I'm—"

Suddenly he let go with one of his hands and dove his thumb into her cunt to rub at her clit. Shepard heard herself cry out and then she was thrusting as hard as he was. Just as the first searingly chill wave of pleasure erupted over her skin, Garrus groaned, hard and rasping, and went still. Shepard continued to move hard against him, chasing wave after wave of sensation and he whined, thrusting a few more times, hard and out of sync.

They stayed, frozen in this strange tableau for a moment, before Garrus sighed and Shepard started panting again in earnest. Garrus let go of her hips and they both sank into the mattress, spent.

They lay just breathing for a while, until she realized she couldn't breathe anymore and started pushing at his carapace. Garrus rolled off of her and slipped out with a groan, and she was finally able to take a deep breath.

Shepard was vaguely aware of movement at her side and the snapping sound of latex being pulled off, then the mattress shifted again as Garrus pulled a pillow under his head and shifted to his side to look at her. She simply turned her head, not planning on moving anytime soon. The reality of him splayed out on her bed, gleaming lightly with her sweat and the scent of sex all around them hit her suddenly. The urge to kiss him tenderly nearly overpowered her good sense, but she managed to stay where she was, content to simply watch him as he watched her.

"Hey," he purred at length, subvocals still going.

"Hey," she breathed back, eyes already drooping.

Garrus's own eyes seemed to scan her and if she wasn't so content she would be a little unnerved. Those eyes found their mark somewhere on her chest and she was about to tease him for ogling when she saw that his brow plates were drawn together, as were his mandibles.

"See?" he said, his tone too light to match his expression, "this is why turians don't do... what is it you humans call it? Missionary?"

"I'll live" she deadpanned, waving a hand in his general direction, but Garrus wasn't done.

"And then there’s that," he said, turning his concerned scowl on her hip. She raised herself a bit to regard the neat little rows of bleeding puncture marks from where he'd bitten her earlier. She looked back at Garrus and his serious expression and sighed dejectedly.

"I'll get the medkit."

"No,  _I'll_  get the medkit," he pushed her back down gently before she could get up, "after all,  _I_  did the biting."

Shepard blinked at the rueful tone and when he returned from her bathroom with an ampoule of medi-gel and hovered over her, she let him. She stayed still as he cracked open the vial and spread its contents over both the bite marks and the burn on her chest (which, she was loath to admit, stung a whole lot more). Seeming satisfied with his work, Garrus hummed thoughtfully and lay next to her again.

"There. Happy?" she said, no real bite to her words. Garrus flashed a grin that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

"Yes, much better. Can't have me jeopardizing your health before we reach the base—"

And there it was. Just like that the bubble burst; the Omega 4 relay was that much closer, and with it, the end of their mission, one way or another.

Garrus cursed, too low for her translator to catch, and reached out for her. He hesitated for a second and gripped her shoulder, even as she got up and forced him to do the same.

"Hey, we're gonna give them hell, you know that, right?"

"Can't wait," she said, but her usual fire wasn't in it and they both knew it. "It won’t be long now, so we better be prepared," she continued before he could comment on the shift in her mood, and turned away from him.

There was silence for a moment, then "Of course," and a shift on the mattress as he drew up next to her and picked up his clothes.

The next few minutes where a blur after which Garrus was fully dressed but she had only bothered to pull on her underwear. She'd have to gear up soon anyway, no sense in putting on clothes she'd have to take right off.

The last latch clicked and Garrus stood there, unmoving, before picking up the torn tinfoil packet and tucking the spent condom and the empty vial into it. He rolled the whole thing up and slipped it into his pocket before smoothing down the front of his civvies. Garrus cleared his throat, and glanced sidelong at Shepard.

"Well... see you on the bridge in 20?"

"Sure," was all she could answer. He nodded jerkily and stalked off towards the door.

Not like this, she thought. Something close to panic (she wasn't sure what or why) propelled Shepard off the bed and had her cover the distance between them in a few strides.

"Garrus," she called out sharply, making him turn. Maybe she was getting better at reading him but he looked surprised to see her so close again. The surprise turned to shock when she grabbed him by the carapace and tugged him into a kiss. It was a bit rough, but he stayed long enough for her to slide her hands to his own and twine their mismatched fingers awkwardly together. They broke apart and knelt their foreheads together, simply breathing once more. 

_Better, much better._

"Thank you, for coming over," she said and he breathed out a sigh against her.

"Thank you for the invitation."

"Well," she continued, feeling bold, "it's an open-ended invitation."

He straightened, and that strange look was back on his face.

"I'll, ah... keep that in mind."

She nodded at him, not knowing what else to say, but there was a smile determined to tug at the corner or her lips. Garrus's mandibles flicked out in response and he gave her a nod that was much more his usual self before turning and marching out, spine stiff.

It wasn't until she heard the elevator door slide shut that Shepard sighed and slouched a little. She turned and walked back to her bed, frowning when she saw something dark at the foot of it. Shepard knelt and picked up a three-fingered glove. Then, on impulse, she pressed it to her nose and breathed in. It simply smelled like synthetic cloth and she tossed it aside, laughing at the ridiculousness of what she'd just done.

 Oh well, back to work.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They say first times are awkard. I should know, I'd never written smut before! Still I'm not done with these two dorks, another chapter to come soon.


	2. A Night to Treasure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They say practice makes perfect. And what better way to celebrate the defeat of the Collectors than to... well... practice?

Two days and it still hadn't sunk in. They'd found the boogeymen's lair, kicked down the door and somehow managed to escape with their lives. Everyone was saying Shepard had done it again, accomplished the impossible, but the truth was they were all strutting a little. Defeating the Collectors was no small feat. Garrus figured they deserved it.

Once the Normandy had made it back to Omega she'd been repaired, wounds had been treated and the crew stocked up on the essentials. They'd all decided to stay, even with looming threat of a pissed-off Illusive Man. Shepard had won them over in the end, this Cerberus crew and not-so-merry band of misfits, and to celebrate she'd declared a night of shore leave before they took off again the following day. No one had wanted to celebrate on Omega proper so here they all were, crammed into the docked Normandy's Mess, making the space brighter with their racket. 

Jack and Zaeed had somehow roped Grunt into a drinking contest that would probably not end well for anyone. Donnelly, Daniels, and Kasumi were pestering Legion with question after technical question about the geth while Tali tried very hard to look like she was scowling through her faceplate. The effect was somewhat ruined as she was swaying where she sat. Jacob and Thane seemed to be deep into some sort of discussion that was way too serious for the occasion and even Miranda had come to mingle and was now listening to stories of Mordin's STG years with rapt attention.

As Garrus walked past them, his third Actual Turian Brandy clutched like a prize in his talons, he was surprised to receive smiles and handshakes and pats on the back.  Every time he replayed the Collector Base in his head he was shocked by how easily the team had followed his lead. Sure, he'd been on missions with all of them at one point or another, but after all the time he spent locked away in the main battery calibrating, he'd never expected to be well liked, much less so implicitly and completely trusted. He hadn't lead a team since—well he hadn't expected things to go as well as they did. When he confided as much to Shepard she'd just said "You  _do_  have a real talent for leadership, Garrus," with the strangest look in her eye.

Speaking of Shepard...

A quick scan found her towards the back of the room, talking amiably but quietly with Kelly and Samara, and Chakwas who was finally starting to look like her old self again. As though she sensed his gaze, She looked up and their eyes locked from across the room. He couldn't quite read her expression but she looked brighter and better rested than she had in weeks, all which tugged a smile out of his mandibles. Suddenly, she got up and, with a placating word for her companions, walked away towards the elevator.  She wove expertly through the crowd, hardly drawing any attention to herself, and pinned him with a mischievous grin before she disappeared around the corner.  Garrus was left there, frozen, drink still in his hands, heart pounding in his ears.

_Does she want me to? No, it can't be._

He probably shouldn't be so surprised. He had, after all, already been in her bed once. She did say it was an open invitation, his mind supplied helpfully, but he pushed the thought away. It was too soon, he told himself, the mission was done and there was no stress to relieve anymore.

_It sure would be a good way to celebrate, though._

Vivid memories of her soft skin, of how he could see the muscles in her hips bunch underneath his fingers as she writhed against him assaulted his senses and he took a sizable gulp of his brandy to have an excuse to swallow. Grunt shouted something to his left, which was met by a chorus of laughter and cheers, but Garrus had long since stopped paying attention.

So, she still wanted him, even after all his stumbling, his nervousness, even after he'd hurt her with his sharp edges,  and almost ruined the moment by making it too weighty for what they'd promised each other. But she'd been gentle too, and kind, and patient, and ready to guide him just as she'd always been in other circumstances. Maybe it was time he stopped acting like a star-struck fledgling around her.

Yes, he decided. He was going to go to her. The meaning behind her smile had been clear enough and sufficient time had passed for him to make an inconspicuous exit after her. Garrus knocked back the last of his drink and pushed off of the table. He was a bit less successful in not disrupting the festivities but if Joker gave him a questioning look or he sent Tali and Kasumi into a fit of giggles as he passed by, he pretended not to notice. He just kept his back straight until the elevator doors hissed shut and he was out of sight.

The usually slower-than-dirt elevator ride felt even more so tonight, but Garrus refused to let his nerve slip so strode boldly to her door the second he arrived. Inside, the cabin's lights were dimmed to half-mast and there was soft, almost indiscernible music coming from somewhere near the bed. He wandered inside, expecting to find her waiting for him on the couch. She wasn't there, but when he turned back around he found her at the top of the stairs, looking smaller than usual in her black undersuit.

Garrus moved towards her just as she moved towards him and he lifted her off the floor when they met. She pressed her lips to his mouth and this time is was easier to kiss her back. Her tongue swept into his mouth and he tasted the light tinge of alcohol on her breath. He could only let go of her when they were both breathless but still she clung to his armored cowl and tugged him down to press their foreheads together. Garrus set his hands on her shoulders and basked in her warmth and her scent, marveling at how she still breathed against him. Only now did he realize how strong a note of gratitude had slipped into his subvocals and he wondered, not for the first time, how much meaning Shepard got from them.

"Hey," he said, a little desperate to dispel the moment.

"Hey," she replied and stepped back, leaving him bereft of her touch.

"Are you sure there's going to be a Normandy left tomorrow? They have Grunt doing shots out of a mug."

Her rich, deep laughter washed over him and she ran a hand through her hair. "I think they'll be fine. She's seen worse."

"So that means we have the night to ourselves?" he tried, feeling brave. Shepard's eyes widened and she walked briskly over to her bedside. Had he said the wrong thing? He'd been so sure—

"Well you had to come back, you left your glove."

Garrus looked up to find her, hips cocked, waving the article lazily at him. He chuckled, feeling sheepish at his moment of doubt, and walked over to take the item from her. "Ah, I'd wondered where this went. I'd let you have it as a keepsake, but mismatched things have a way of bothering me."

"Maybe you could just let me have your other glove," came her answer, swift and with a familiar teasing lilt. She took his hand in her own and found the catch at the wrist. First the armor came off, and then the cloth, and she pressed  her soft lips to the inside of his wrist.

There was no way she knew how intimate of a gesture that was among turians. Garrus found he didn't mind one single, solitary bit.

"Is it getting hot in here?" he said, reluctantly pulling his hand from her grasp. He started to undo the seals at one side of his cowl and, ever the quick learner, she tackled the ones at his other side. Together they dismantled his armor, piece by piece, and left each part on the armchair behind him. When they stood in matching, formfitting black, Shepard reached for his visor.

Garrus jerked out of the way and she faltered but stayed silent.

"Careful, it's a custom model," he forced himself to say, plucking it off himself and setting it down at the table, far from the bed.

"I know," she said, voice a little flat, "It was so strange to see you without it that night. I was starting to think you even slept with it."

"Only when I fall asleep at the console." He laughed a bit too lightly, voices and memories knocking about in his head. He returned to her side but didn't meet her eyes, so she stepped even closer and traced the now uncovered markings on his face. Garrus let his eyes slide closed, relishing in the little ghost of feeling that her fingers left, at how it emptied his mind. Before he knew it his forehead was resting on hers again and they were moving together.

Shepard nudged at his chest and he obediently walked backwards into the bed. One small push tipped him over and she was on him before he'd bounced. She kissed him with a new ferocity, the same he'd seen in her eyes, checking him over for wounds at the Collector Base. He tangled his talons in her hair, short but growing again, and she hummed into his mouth. Her nimble little fingers found his ribs and applied steady pressure, sending a jolt of pleasure up and down his spine. Garrus broke the kiss with a throaty moan and as he ran his hands down her neck and over her hard shoulders and arms, his thumbs brushed the sides of her breasts through the undersuit.

_Right, breasts._

Garrus still wasn't used to factoring them into the equation, but he was starting to see the appeal of holding their firm weight in his hands. Shepard moaned into his mouth as he squeezed her, giving him more reasons to like giving them his attention.

Not to be outdone, Shepard's hands slipped down to his waist, right above his hipbones, stroking and massaging him, seeking out every last vulnerable inch. She turned to kiss the side of his face, then nudged his mandible with her nose to turn his head. The second he did, she went for his neck with her tongue, and he couldn't help two-toned the cry that escaped his throat.

"I love it when you sound like that," she breathed, then started tugging at his undersuit with a frown. "You really need to teach me how to get you out of these."

With a chuckle, he got out of bed and very deliberately undid the main clasps around his suit. He briefly considered making a little show of it, but he soon swept the idea aside. What he looked like wasn't what she liked about him, after all. Garrus was quick and efficient at peeling the suit off and he made to crawl on top of Shepard the moment he stepped out of his pants, but she dodged him nimbly (damn that human flexibility) and stood at the side of the bed where he'd just been.

"Unzip me?" she said, casually turning her back to him and pointing to the small metal tag at her nape.

Still kneeling on the bed, Garrus had to swallow before he reached up and slowly tugged the zipper down. His eyes were met with a span of creamy, lightly tanned skin, marked by the deep dip of her spine. Shepard shrugged out of the top of the undersuit , then reached behind to unlatch her bra. The movement did interesting things to the muscles of her back and shoulders and Garrus sat there, transfixed at the vulnerability of her body and at just how much it excited him.

He felt a very definite twinge in his groin plates when she pushed the suit lower, exposing her trim waist and hips. His hands moved almost of their own accord to trace her curves, and he leaned forward to press his tongue to a small spot low on her left hip. He hadn't seen it the first night they'd been together, but now that he looked more carefully he could see that she had two more on her right shoulder. He pressed himself close to her to lick them as well and then ran his hands up her smooth belly and ribs to cup the now unclothed breasts again.

She rested her head back against him with a sigh, which turned into a moan when he purposefully flicked a thumb over her hardened nipples and turned his head to lick the edge of one ear. He felt his plates shift again at the sounds he was drawing from her, but he couldn't linger. He still had a job to do.

Garrus let his hands wander downwards again, resisting the urge to pause at her waist for too long, and gripped the edge of the undersuit. He pulled it down slowly, subvocals lowering in pitch with every bit of skin revealed. Shepard stepped out of the suit but she didn't turn around, so he had the chance to admire the muscles in her powerful legs. He ran the tip of a talon up the outside of one thigh and watched, fascinated, as the skin changed to a slightly pebbled texture. He was starting to love this about her, being able to make her body react so visibly, making her flush or seeing how easily the sinew gave under the pressure of his fingers. His attention was drawn, inexorably, to her plush rear. Now  _this_  was more familiar, if way more exposed than a turian's. He must have taken her underwear down with the suit as well. Garrus took advantage of the fact by nipping at her ass which earned him a startled yelp.

For a second he worried she'd be angry but when Shepard turned around she was laughing, and the light of mischief was back in her eyes.

"A little eager tonight, Vakarian?" she teased, voice deep and rough. He had little time to reflect on how his name sounded like an endearment on her tongue before she was crowding him, forcing him to backtrack on the bed until he was propped back on pillows and caged between her arms. A moment passed when something he couldn't describe drifted over her features and she dove. Her hot, flexible little mouth clamped over his neck and sucked, then trailed lower and lower, leaving a track of wet kisses out past his cowl and down one side.

"Hey it's not every day the Vanquisher of the Collectors invites you up to her bed," he replied at length, trying and failing to keep the breathlessness out of his voice. He was rewarded with a reproachful hum and sharp little teeth at his waist and he arched as far as his spine would allow, groaning and thrumming hard. He could feel more than hear Shepard's chuckle against his skin as she lingered, licking, sucking, and biting by turns. His plates were retracting alarmingly fast now and he forced himself to take deep breaths even as he felt his temperature climb.

Merciless as always, Shepard traveled lower, down his hips, past the arousal straining against his plates, all the way down to the inside of his thighs where she slowed once more, licking the seam where leg ended and groin began. One hand remained on his hip, stroking and massaging the hide there with her thumb. Garrus tried to shift himself to look at her.

"Are you trying to kill me?" he wheezed, threading talons into her short hair. Shepard bit him hungrily in lieu of a reply and he slumped back down, laughing and winded. She did it again, harder, and the bright burst of pain mixed with pleasure made him seize for a moment. When he came back to himself she'd migrated to the back of his knee and the tender skin there, then down his calf to the hide around his ankle and damn was this woman hell-bent on ferreting out every single sensitive spot he didn't know he had?

She dragged her teeth teasingly over the arch of one foot while she dug her fingers into the underside. The sensation was sharp and purer than pleasure and he nearly jerked his leg out of her grasp. Shepard stilled him with a shushing sound and a firm stroke up the unarmored side his calf and he settled back down watching her. He'd seen her deck krogan with those hands and yet somehow, resting gentle and fine-boned against his plates they seemed delicate by comparison.

"Come here" he growled suddenly, possessed by the urge to hold her, and he surged up to grip her by the shoulders and pull her to him.

He was starting to get the appeal of this kissing thing, Garrus thought, as he slanted his plates over her lips and let his tongue sweep possessively into her warm mouth. Shepard moaned against him and pressed herself flush to his body. In a maneuver he'd be proud of later, Garrus hooked his calf behind her knee and used his grip on her shoulders to twist them until their positions were flipped. Shepard laughed in her husky tenor and braced him against her with her legs.

"Now who's eager?" he purred, letting the undertones of arousal hum clearly through every syllable. For a moment, he wished desperately for his visor, to be able to see exactly how elevated her pulse was, if her temperature had changed, perhaps even save a recording for later? But then she tugged him down and the moment passed as he buried his nose in her neck and inhaled her scent.

Shepard arched against him and Garrus chuckled, taking advantage of the closeness to lick and nip his way down her body in a mirror of what she'd done earlier. He opened his mouth around one nipple, relishing in the instant reaction of the skin around him and flicked it with his tongue, tugged on it with his mouth plates He then treated the other to the same attention.

"Ahh, Garrus!"

His name in that husky voice was the last straw. He felt his plates retract completely and his erection drop. He gripped himself with one hand and leaned his forehead on her belly, unable to suppress a groan at how sensitive he was. Shepard started to rise towards him but he planted his other hand firmly on her sternum, pushing her back down.

"I'm not done with you yet," he sighed, and grinned when she complied with a laugh. He stroked himself once in consolation, then resolved to ignore his arousal completely, focusing on the expanse of soft skin in front of him instead.

He nipped down her ribs gently, swirled his tongue into the oddity that he now knew was called a belly button, then lapped lower past her hips. Garrus paused for a moment as he nudged her legs aside. His hands went ever so gently to her groin and he smoothed thumbs over the slightly parted lips he found there before pulling them apart. He took a good long look at her, the way he had the first time, at the soft, gently rippling folds of skin, pinker towards the middle. He ran his fingers up the seam, saw her clench and distantly heard her sigh. Then he found the pearl that sat above it all like a keystone and rubbed it gently. Her legs jerked and he heard the rustling of disturbed bedclothes, so he did it again. A moan followed and he ground his hips mindlessly into the mattress below him. She was different, very different from what he was used to, too soft and too wet, but her scent was no less tantalizing and he found his mouth watering. Garrus poked his tongue out and let it slide against the pinkish skin, bottom to top.

Her sharp taste exploded across his tongue just as Shepard jumped so hard she rocked the bed. Garrus shot up after her a second later.

"Garrus what-" her brows had climbed up to her hairline, eyes blown wide. Somewhere in the background he felt his pulse pick up.

"Sorry, was that too much?"

Shepard was laughing now, carding a hand through her short hair.

"No, it was-" she laughed again, looking away "it was  _great_  but..."

"But?" he echoed, listing after her.

"You're dextro. Doesn't that make this a bad idea?"

Garrus felt his chest unclench. He hadn't realized how tense his shoulders were until they sagged back down. It was his turn to laugh now.

"A little taste won't kill anyone, Shepard. Besides, my allergies have always been mild. Practically nonexistant"

"Oh." Shepard's features dropped to a mocking scowl. "You could've led with that," she groused, making him laugh again.

"Sorry, I'm a bit eager tonight, remember?"

"I can see that," she outright purred, and closed her hands around his neglected cock.

Garrus groaned hard, throwing his head back as his subvocals began to thrum out his lust with a vengeance. He swelled back to full hardness in her hands as she worked deftly, tightening her grip at on the upstroke. He was more wet than he could remember being in an good long while and the feeling of Shepard's many soft little fingers slipping back and forth over the ridges below his head was starting to drive him insane.

"W-wait," he stammered, and ignored how she seemed to deflate a little as she let go of him, "What about what I was..." he ghosted his knuckles between her legs instead of finishing the sentence, hoping his meaning was clear.

"How about we leave that for next time?" she replied, taking his hand and kissing his fingers.

 _Next time._ The words echoed inside his head but he could hardly process them right now. Instead, he wasted no time in leaning over to the side of the bed.

"In that case-"

He scrambled a little to find the hidden pocket in his discarded undersuit and okay, maybe he'd been a bit optimistic, tucking this away before the party earlier. Any doubts he had were cast aside when Shepard grinned, taking the proffered packet and tearing carefully at the foil to remove the condom. He watched, mesmerized as she pinched the tip, placed it against his head, and rolled it downwards. Her hand slipped a couple of times on the ridges and he helped her the rest of the way, stroking himself to make sure it was on right.

Of course it was at that moment that Shepard chose to lean down and seal her mouth around the hide on his hip. Her gaze fluttered up to meet his, even as she dashed her tongue against the retracted plates of his groin. Too much. This was too much, he had to...

"Shepard please, just-" he nearly choked when she gave his erection another firm squeeze and sucked harder.

"What do you want? Tell me, Garrus, what do you need?"

"I-"

He couldn't say it, with her familiar warm grey eyes on him like this, looking at him with more softness than he'd ever thought he'd see. Then, she rose up on her knees and leaned into his cowl, pressing her body to his, trapping his straining cock between them. His hands found the bare skin of her back and he slid his palms up and down the her unfamiliar human contours and somehow, that made it easier.

"I need to be inside you. I need to feel you Shepard, I need-"

She kissed him then, slowly, sensually, and full of urgent need, and she climbed on his kneeling form until she was straddling his legs. Her hips angled towards him and her hands gripped him, guiding him towards her entrance. Garrus looked into her eyes and forced himself to stay there.

She lowered herself by fractions. Garrus felt his head part her lips, felt the ache inside him flare up, saw the way her pupils dilated impossibly. A few inches lower and he felt the first set of ridges slip inside her. Her warmth and her scent wrapped around him and he gripped her hips harder as a whine started to build in his throat. She took him deeper and her mouth opened in an inaudible gasp. He pressed his hips upward, slipping in further and now he was keening in earnest. Her patience seemed to give out the same moment his did and she drove down, enveloping him completely. They moaned in tandem and leaned their foreheads together.

After a few steadying breaths Garrus looked back up at her furrowed brows and dark, trembling lashes. On impulse he kissed her lips shortly and she breathed a sigh, moving against him. Even through the condom he could feel her tight, textured walls and he moaned again, throwing his head back and matching her movements with an upward thrust of his own hips. It didn't take long for their shared rhythm to escalate and he realized that she was rocking herself deep into him instead of withdrawing. He felt less of her that way but if her trembling was any indication, this was exactly what she needed.

_What Shepard needs..._

A flash from their first night together invaded his mind and he followed his own example, unwinding a hand from where he was steadying her back. One questing thumb pressed between them and into her folds, rubbing against the hard little nub of her clit. Shepard cried out and ground down harder against him and Garrus redoubled his efforts, rubbing in fast, tight circles, biting down on her shoulder.

Shepard's cries filled the cabin and drowned out what little there was of the long-forgotten music. The heat was coiling deep in his gut at the very idea of how close she was and Garrus bucked harder upwards, meeting her own hips with crushing force.

Suddenly, Shepard stopped, gasped out a broken sob that sounded suspiciously like his name, and the pressure around his arousal increased deliciously. He sighed into her ear and she gasped again, snapping her hips erratically against him as she clenched and unclenched. Garrus held her tight through her orgasm, riding it out with her, letting pleasure and contentment color his subvocals. He hummed into her ear until she slumped bonelessly into his grip.

Garrus chuckled, deep and delighted, and nuzzled her neck. The hand between her legs withdrew and he used his talons to stroke her back lightly.

"Think you could do that again?" he found himself asking and realized that, yes, this is what he wanted.

Shepard looked up at him, eyes glazed and he drove his point home by rocking into her. Her brows drew up as she moaned and kissed him messily, then she stared moving again, slowly at first, then urgently, trembling. He started to shift his hand back between her legs but she slapped him away with a growl and he scrambled for a moment, at a loss to what to grab onto. In the end he clamped it around her ass instead. Shepard moaned her approval wildly into his ear and his subvocals kicked back in almost of their own accord. Soon she was clenching around him again, pressure harder than the previous time and Garrus moaned hard and clutched him to her as she did. Shepard leaned her head against his cowl, panting, and he let her rest, supporting her back. His cock was starting to throb hard, making his need to finish known. But he could hold off a little longer, couldn't he?

He kissed the side of her head, then her mouth when she straightened blearily. Her breathing had slowed down so he took it as a sign and drove up into her again, hands hard around her hips. The elated laugh that poured out of her then sent shivers down his spine and she began to move again, clinging to his carapace for purchase. Garrus fought hard to match her uneven rhythm, felt himself come close, clamped down on his need. It was taking longer this time and the pressure inside of him was building inexorably, even as Shepard began to tremble again, gasping with every thrust.

Just when time seemed to stretch impossibly and he was close to losing control, she slowed way down, rolling hard and long against him with a cry. The pressure came, even harder, hard enough to make him howl and he couldn't take it anymore.

Garrus tipped her back onto the mattress, thighs hooked over his hip bones, and ploughed mercilessly into her, his keening uninterrupted. Shepard arched into him, head tossing from side to side, hands fisting into the sheets below her and Garrus had a fraction of a second of lucid thought. How beautiful she looked, muscles clenched, shining with sweat, golden skin a stark contrast to his silver plates.

"Shepard," he whispered, the moment before white spilled across his vision.

His body acted on instinct, driving into her in time with the pulsing, and the ache unspooled as a chill chased it across his nerves.

He leaned into her one last time, panting hard, then his elbows went weak and gave way. Garrus barely had the presence of mind to lean half off her body and not crush her with his keelbone before he collapsed.

They lay there for a while, breaths evening out, sweat cooling on her body as he felt his own temperature return to normal. Shepard sighed and wrapped her arms around him, then her legs, which caused him a jolt of sensation too intense to bear. Garrus gasped and withdrew, laughing nervously. Shepard was up on her elbows in a second, alertness all over her features.

"Bit too much," Garrus managed to bite out between chuckles and she relaxed, humming and cocking her head to the side.

"You're a quick study Vakarian," she bit her lip then, and if he didn't know any better he'd say she looked... shy. "That was amazing."

Garrus tried to get a handle on his subvocals before they kicked into the overjoyed range and instead busied himself with getting the condom off and sliding down next to her.

"I have a really good dance partner," he drawled once his pulse had settled again. Shepard winced at his choice of words but smiled at him a second later. From somewhere a few floors down something thumped loudly, chased by muffled cheering.

"Well, it's a good thing I upgraded the medbay," Shepard said dryly and nestled closer to him.

Now that he was coming down from the high and his plates were back up, Garrus couldn't help but notice the bite marks he'd left on odd parts of her body, but they weren't bleeding this time and he hadn't burned her with his plates so he decided to leave it be. The words 'next time' floated back up to the forefront of his mind and he grinned. It was one thing to hear her talk of an open invitation, and quite another to have something planned for the future.

"What's next for us?" he said out loud as it crossed his mind, and nearly smacked his head on his palm. As it is, he let his eyes squeeze shut.

_Steallar timing, Vakarian. Way to harsh her buzz._

"There's still a few reports I wanted to check out." Shepard answered airily, "After they took the crew, well... there was no time."

Garrus didn't know whether to feel relieved at the subject change or not. "More N7 missions?"

"Yeah, one or two of them jump out. We should look into them now that we know just how deep the connection between the Collectors and the Reapers is... was". Shepard scrunched her nose. "Is it bad that I sometimes still don't believe we did it?"

There it was, the doubt she always tried so hard to bottle up, their fearless Commander. It shone like a jewel and Garrus wanted to cage it with his talons before it disappeared. "Not at all," he was quick to answer, a steadying hand on her shoulder, "It's definitely one for the history books."

"I guess it is." She smiled at the ceiling and there was a lull in which neither of them spoke. Just as Garrus was starting to believe he was off the hook, Shepard spoke again.

"Garrus?"

She trained his full attention on him and he had to remind himself to breathe.

"You know, you're always welcome up here, and not just for... this," she waved vaguely at their naked forms. "There's no one else I trust more than you, I like having you at my side, one way or another."

He sighed as he pressed his forehead to hers, relief coursing through him. Never missed a thing, his Shepard, and, not for the first time, Garrus was glad of it. There was still no name for this, for them, but it didn't bother him. She seemed so sure of what she said though, it was only fair to respond in kind.

"I'll be at your side for as long as you need me."

The smile she flashed him when they separated was so dazzling it left him reeling, and he moved to get off the bed.

She caught his wrist gently.

"Stay tonight?" He must have given her a puzzled look because she seemed in a hurry to explain after that. "They're still partying it up down there, and I doubt you want to do the walk of shame back to the battery with the whole crew watching."

"Walk of shame?" he said, a little startled, "Why would I be—"

"Easy there, big guy, it's a human term!"

Her laugh made the skin around her eyes crinkle and he let himself be tugged back down next to her. He was still a little dazed as Shepard wordlessly shoved pillows at him so he could support his head. Then, she threw the covers over them both and drew close. Garrus squirmed a bit to get comfortable, and by the time he felt better settled and looked up, Shepard's eyes were already closed.

He watched her, vulnerable and trusting and so at ease with him taking up half her bed that he shook his head lightly in wonder.

This was it. He was done for. It would take nothing short of a cataclysm to get him to leave her side.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's a wrap! Thanks for the encouragement and the patience you guys. I hope to feature these two in more stories yet.


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